


One Strange Afternoon

by WyattShepard



Series: Dungeons and Dragons [8]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:11:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattShepard/pseuds/WyattShepard





	One Strange Afternoon

          _J_

Jones stepped off the last wooden step and back onto jungle floor with his companions, Nikos and Uh’las in tow. They had captured two criminals who had fled further into the jungle in hopes that no one would go to the trouble of coming for them.

          “Only about half a day until we reach Starshore and turn in this bounty, right,” Nikos drew out the last word in a question to Jones. When the pirate didn’t respond right away Nikos glanced away from the map over his shoulder at the older man.

          “Hey, are you even here,” He asked, startling the pirate out of his thoughts.

          “A-Aye lad, What did ye need? Sorry my mind wanders sometimes,” The pirate responded as they crested a steep hill and started down the other side.

          “It must wander a lot… Do you know where it goes,” the young sorcerer asked with sarcastic enthusiasm. Jones smirked slightly as he readjusted the unconscious man he was carrying. Both he and Uh’las were carrying a man each since both were needed to complete the full bounty.

          “Don’t get smart with me, lad. I’d say we’re about half a day’s walk, give or take,” He responded after a couple seconds.

          “Uh'las you’re pretty quiet back there. You alright,” Jones raised his voice but didn’t get a response. Nikos again turned to look at Jones, this time he found a very serious expression.

          “Lad, don’t make it obvious but check and make sure the half-elf lad is still with us,” Jones whispered in a tone that slammed steel up Nikos’s spine. He knew that something was wrong to concern the pirate like this. Nikos carefully glanced over his shoulder in a way that didn’t even give a hint that he was doing it. Jones smiled with pride at how far the boy had come since they’d met.

          “No trace of him,” the sorcerer said as his mouth drew into a tight line.

          “Great,” Jones deadpanned.

          “What do we do?”

          As if in response to his question a bubble of crackling electricity began forming about ten meters in front of the pair. When it finally faded away there was a ring of still-burning grass where it had been and two beings now stood in it’s place. The first was quite obviously human, Nikos observed as the man reached up and straightened the red bow-tie around his neck. He wore a simple brown overcoat and white shirt, with glasses that the young sorcerer assumed were too big as he watched the man push them back up the bridge of his nose for the second time. Nikos was at a loss for words to describe the being behind the man. She looked like a woman, but she wasn’t of a race that Nikos knew of. She had a mixture of emerald-green and white feathers covering her breasts and the sides of her midsection down to her waist. Her cheekbones were thin, and more white feathers covered her shoulders and replaced the hair that would have been on her head.

          “Master,” the woman said, letting the word drop between the four. The man turned towards them and smiled.

          “I see them, Garuda. Hello there, I’m afraid we aren’t really from around here. Do either of you speak common,” He asked in a voice that Nikos knew belonged to someone used to speaking publicly.

          More out of shock then anything else the pair remained silent for several seconds, unsure of how to respond to what was happening. The man and woman glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to them.

          “And what about now,” the man asked speaking fluent aquan, which was enough to shake Jones from silence.

          “Aye, you don’t have to speak in our tongue. Though I admit it’s impressive that an outsider knows it,” The pirate said earning a smile from the man.

          “Thank you. I am Adaar and this is my companion, Garuda. Pleasure to meet you,” He said, bowing briefly to them. Jones tipped his hat and Nikos smiled to them in response. Adaar removed his glasses and used his undershirt to clean them.

          “You can call me Jones, and this ‘ere is Nikos. I guess you could say we’re bounty hunters now,” the pirate said, shrugging the unconscious man to emphasize his point.

          “That’s a hard way to make a living,” Adaar commented, “I have taken up hunting bounties in the past, and I would rather not return to it.” It was halfway through his sentence that Garuda glanced away from them and towards the hill that they had come from. Adaar seemed to notice as he regarded her for a moment before turning back to the pair.

          “Did you two happen to have a third companion, possibly carrying another unconscious person,” Adaar asked them.

          “Actually, tis true we do. But eh, how did you know,” Jones responded carefully. Adaar gestured towards the bird-woman.

          “Garuda has very, acute, senses I suppose you could call it. He won’t be much longer,” He said still smiling. Garuda seemed to notice something about Nikos because her eyes didn’t leave him once they fell on him. Adaar glanced over at her before slowly approaching the pair.

          “That’s a very interesting necklace you have, Nikos. Even with my magic circuits fried I can feel it’s power,” Adaar said eyeing the shell around the sorcerer’s neck. Jones stepped between Nikos and Adaar.

          “Putting your entrance aside, may I ask what brings you both to the middle of the jungle,” The pirate asked. Adaar put his hand on Jones’s shoulder.

          “Nikos did, though indirectly I might add. Garuda and I travel between planes hunting down cursed objects, demons, devils, and the occasional lich in service to the Heavens. Garuda herself is even part angel. We were sent to destroy Nikos’s necklace,” He explained.

          “You won’t touch a thing on the boy’s person,” Jones responded, his voice dangerously low. Nikos shuffled nervously behind Jones as he glanced between the two.

          “I’ve burned villages for unholy items that were less of a threat then both of you pose,” Adaar matched the low tone of the pirate’s voice. Nikos almost missed the blur of grey-steel and movement.

          “And I’ve killed leviathan tougher then you lot put together,” Jones stated. His sword was dashed crimson where he had removed the mage’s hand. Adaar stumbled back away from him starring in utter horror at where his hand had been.

          Garuda instantly hurled herself at the pair, screaming at the top of her lungs. She soared in between the two coming only inches away from sinking her fangs into the pirate’s neck. Jones was quick enough to dodge to the side and push Nikos out of the way as well.

          “Move like you got purpose, lad,” He shouted as he bolted for the tree line, his free hand frantically rummaging in his bag. It eventually came free from the pack clutching a small smoke grenade.

          _If yer bird has good sensory skills then I’ll dull them,_ He thought as he pulled the pin on the grenade and smoke began to blanket the trees around him.

          _At the very least, this she-demon isn’t after Nikos if she’s chasing me,_ the pirate thought, stepping back into the smoke.

          _G_

          Garuda sniffed the air several times and glanced to her left. She was close to her prey, she knew it. No one harms her master and lives, and the scraggly man who smelled of – she remembered Adaar call the scent ‘rum’ once – was no exception. It was hard to pick the ‘rum’ out from the growing cloud of grey smoke, but she made the move to walk into it, regardless of the ambush that surely awaited her.

          _N_

          “All we need is that necklace, there is no need for anyone to die today,” Adaar called over at Nikos. The only response was a flair of magic and three darts that were sent sailing at Adaar. The mage dodged the first but the other two imbedded themselves into his leg. He yelled out in pain and clutched at it, making Garuda turn and glance at him. She started looking around for Nikos but Adaar shook his head.

          “I can handle this, find the sailor,” he told her through grit teeth. She simply nodded and continued her hunt.

          “Fine,” Adaar choked out, “You asked for it, brat.”

          Adaar clapped his hands together and began screaming. From where Nikos was still hidden behind a tree he heard it very clearly. The mage was in great pain, his voice nearly writhing in agony, which made Nikos peek around the tree trunk. Something on Adaar’s back was twisting, contorting, and shaping itself into something new. Then a giant, leathery bat-wing ripped out from underneath his flesh. He continued to scream as a second one emerged from the other side of his back. When he looked up and spotted Nikos there was fur growing on the sides of his face and his arms, and his hair started lightening in color until it was grey-white. Nikos cursed something he heard Jones once say under his breath. He wasn’t sure what that form was, but it was certainly nothing good. He ducked back behind the tree and started channeling the mana for another spell.

          “Too slow,” he heard behind him. The young mage cried out in surprise as he was lifted off the ground by his neck and thrown into the clearing. Nikos struggled to sit up but the mage was faster than him. Adaar stood over him with a smug grin, and put his foot heavily on Nikos’s chest to force him back to the ground.

          “I gave you the option to walk away,” Adaar said in a higher-pitched and raspy voice.

          “Bite… Me,” Nikos growled. The foot kept him from moving, and the list in his head was running low on ideas.

          “Everyone wants to be the tough guy,” the mage responded sarcastically. He lifted his foot and kicked Nikos across the face and sent him tumbling another couple meters. Nikos looked around frantically trying to find Jones while Adaar calmly approached.

          “You’re nothing but a runt who hasn’t had the chance to become anything else,” He said as he closed the distance between them, “Now give me what I came here for.” Adaar grabbed the seashell and was about to yank it away from the younger man when Nikos grabbed his arm.

          “You can’t have it,” Nikos said in a cold and monotone voice. Adaar raised an eyebrow in response.

“And who is going to stop me,” The mage asked loudly, looking around the clearing sarcastically. Nikos flicked his wrist and broke the man’s arm. The mage screamed in surprise and pain and tried to leap away. Nikos kept his hold on the man’s arm, regardless of his struggles. When he looked at the teenager’s face he knew this wasn’t the same person. Adaar could feel something now: power. It rolled off the boy in waves as he held him in a vice grip.

          “I don’t know about stopping you,” Nikos said as he stood while keeping his steel hold on Adaar’s arm.

“All I know is that I’m going to kill you.” Nikos’s eyes were half-way constricted, resembling a snake’s eyes. He then pulled Adaar toward him and kicked him in the chest, sending the semi-human soaring through several trees until one of them stopped him. The seashell on Niko’s necklace now had a small crack along it.

_G_

Garuda launched herself into the air and began flapping her mighty wings. It cleared the smoke screen away effortlessly, and she could easily smell her target again. She dove out of the sky towards one of the many trees.

“I have you,” She yelled as she flew behind one of the trees and sliced into a jacket hanging from a branch.

“Try again, lass,” Jones said stepping from behind the tree next to her, standing on a branch so that he was level with her. Garuda looked at him, holding a strange metal rod in one hand and his cutlass in the other, her eyes wide with bloodlust.

_J_

He leveled the barrel of his shotgun on her and shrugged. She made a move to slash at him, but he pulled the trigger and the gun roared. She flew backwards colliding with a tree, and slowly fell to the ground. He glanced over the edge of the branch he was standing on and tipped the brim of his hat up.

“Whew,” He whistled, grabbing his jacket and sliding down the trunk. He approached where she was lying and kicked her arm with the toe of his boot lightly. He shrugged again and turned to look for Nikos. His search was short as what the pirate recognized as a werebat went soaring past him, through four trees to stop on the fifth. He was more confused than anything else. That confusion only grew when he looked to see where the creature had come from. He saw Nikos standing there, scales forming on spots of his body and his eyes resembling vertical slits instead of his normal pupils.

“Lad! That was amazing, how did you even do that,” Jones called out, stating to jog over to his friend. Halfway down the hill Jones stopped abruptly, golden chains forming around his chest, trailing back to where Adaar was propped up against a tree. The chains leading to his open palm. Garuda slowly picked herself up, Adaar's other palm was alight with healing magic.

“Go,” Adaar said, as Garuda launched into the air. Nikos reached out and tried to dispel the magic but Garuda was quicker. She landed behind Jones and swung her leg low to trip the pirate. His legs were kicked from under him and he fell to the ground. Without giving him time to react, Garuda brought one of her claws down, then the other, ripping flesh and sending blood through the air. Nikos slowly let his arm go limp at his side, most of his body slightly trembling.

“Uc too, novan shik,” Nikos growled out, his voice much lower. Adaar glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. The boy’s eyes had now become full vertical slits.

“Garuda, that was Draconic,” He told her. She nodded.

“What is this boy,” Adaar asked, releasing his chains now that Garuda had finished the sailor. He walked over to her and put his hand on the middle of her back. There was a bright flash of light as Adaar vanished and Garuda was left standing. Nikos was there in an instant, bringing his now-clawed hands up to slash at her. She was able to dodge or block most of his blows, but she noticed that his speed was nearly as fast as her own. She managed to grab one of his hands after blocking the strike, but Nikos didn’t give her any room as he kicked her in the side. When she released him, he leapt backwards several times and opened his mouth.

          _‘Garuda, he’s gathering mana in his throat. He is going to make a breath attack of some kind,’_ Adaar says within their shared mind. She nods in response and holds out her arms.

          _‘Master, I need a little power,’_ She responds, feeling Adaar give her thumbs up. Both of her palms began to glow with blue fire, a small ball forming between her clawed-hands.

          _U_

          “What in the hells is this,” Uh’las muttered under his breath. He finally had caught up with them, to find this battlefield. He had simply went off the path to refill his water canteen and started hearing battle. It took him longer then he would have liked to find his way back, but not long enough for all of this, surely. He then noticed Jones lying on the ground, blood strewn all around him, and what looked like Nikos and a large bird-woman charging attacks at each other. He could sense that the woman was some form of outsider. But Nikos almost didn’t look like himself anymore.

          _‘This is bad,’_ Uh’las thought, channeling his mana urgently.

          The woman glanced to the side and noticed him, her eyes going wide.

          “Vara’benal,” Uh’las muttered. His spell discharged sending a shockwave out from his palm. When it hit her, the woman cried out and began peeling away from this reality. Her form peeled off what looked like a smaller man wearing glasses. The man collapsed onto the ground and the woman staggered forwards before turning to look at him.

          “I’m sorry, Master,” She uttered before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

          Uh’las saw Nikos launch himself at the man on the ground. The elf frantically gathered his mana again. Nikos seemed to notice this and changed his direction. He was beside Uh’las in under a second, the elf’s eyes going wide at the speed of it.

          “Varon co’shack,” Nikos growled at Uh’las, his breath coming out in wispy clouds. His whole mouth and entire throat began building to a blinding degree.

          “Nikos,” a woman’s voice called out sternly. His serpentine eyes went wide. Uh’las stood stock still as he watched a glowing hand touch Nikos’s shoulder. All the mana building in his throat instantly vanished.

          “Oh, my poor baby. What happened to you,” She said, fully materializing behind him now. The woman was a little taller then Nikos, with pale-blue skin and white hair. Uh’las thought she looked extremely young to have white hair, but he pushed that thought aside and just watched. Nikos turned to fully face her, as the woman reached up and examined the seashell that had several cracks across it.

          “Here, let me fix this for you,” She smiled at him sweetly. The shell was made whole again and all of the draconic traits seemed to be sucked into it, leaving a very disheveled Nikos staggering back and forth. Uh’las managed to catch him before he collapsed. Nikos glanced around and noticed the woman, his eyes going impossibly wide.

          “Mother,” Nikos cried out in surprise. He tried to lurch forwards but even that small movement hurt all over.

          “Not too quickly, you’re very weak after all that fighting,” She scolded, kneeling to be closer to him.

          “Fighting,” Nikos asked. Then it all came flooding back to him, everything up until Jones was…

          “JONES” Nikos cried out, forcing his body to move. Without much grace he was able to stand and ran desperately over to where the pirate lay. He collapsed next to his friend, tears streaming down his cheeks.

          “No no no no no,” Nikos frantically repeated in a breaking voice, as he looked over all the wounds that covered his friend. His mother kneeled beside him and looked over the man as well.

          “Is this man important to you, Ni,” She asked, seeing her son so completely shaken.

          “He’s like a father to me,” Nikos choked out between sobs. His mother seemed taken aback by this, but then focused on Jones. His body was enveloped in a bright light for a couple moments before it faded. The pirate sat bolt upright, gasped for breath and began coughing loudly.

          “No way,” Nikos trailed off before looking at his mother.

          “Be more careful next time, little one,” She whispered into his ear, “I was only able to do this once, if the shell is damaged or weakened again I cannot repair it.”

          “But what does my necklace have to do with this,” Nikos asked, looking the necklace over.

          “When I gave that to you, I cast a powerful sealing spell on it. It keeps the draconic side of you, namely everything you got from your father, sealed away. When you were fighting earlier you must have been feeling an extreme rage, or fury, really any of the violent feelings will feed into it but you felt such an extreme, uncontrollable hate that it weakened the seal, then later it was able to break through,” She explained. Nikos listened intently.

          “Sorry to interrupt, but who are you lass,” Jones said, once he regained his composure.

          “You can call me Kamara,” she smiled at him, “I’m Nikos’s mother.”

          “Right,” Jones said, taking a small bottle from his jacket and taking a swig of the amber liquid.

          “Say again, I’m sorry,” the pirate said. Kamara smiled at him again.

          “My son says you’re very important to him. Look out for him, Mr. Jones,” She says.

          “Please, just Jones, miss,” he waved the title off.

          “Then just Kamara, that’s fair right,” she asked. He grinned as Nikos helped him stand.

          “Aye, Kamara, it’s nice to meet you,” Jones said to her.

          “I wish I could spend a little bit more time, but the spell is fading. Originally it was only supposed to repair the seal if it was damaged. I should have used more power so that I could explain things, but you will find them out in time,” She said as her light began to diminish.

          “Wait, you can’t leave yet,” Nikos said desperately. Kamara smiled and leaned in so that their foreheads touched, her bright blue-green eyes staring into his.

          “I must, little one. But my love for you will never be gone, remember that.” Then, she faded away. Leaving the party alone amongst a battlefield.

When Uh’las thought it was over, he looked to where the man with the glasses had been to find him gone. He would bring it up later though, he would hate to spoil this moment.

         


End file.
